The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a drive system for allowing preheating of a fixer for a predetermined time interval and driving of a paper feeder system immediately after power is supplied.
In a conventional image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine, the drive system such as a main motor is operated for a predetermined time interval immediately after power is supplied, so that preheating of the fixer and driving of the paper feeder system can be performed. The predetermined time interval is determined by giving consideration to the time interval required for preheating the fixer.
The drive time interval is thus fixed independently of operational conditions. If the temperature of the fixer is already high enough to be ready for the next copying operation (e.g., immediately after the previous copying operation is completed), the fixer reaches a proper preheated temperature immediately after power is supplied. However, as described above, the drive time interval is fixed, and the fixer is continuously heated, thus resulting in time-consuming operation. Furthermore, when the fixer is repeatedly overheated, it may deteriorate. In addition, if a paper sheet is jammed when power is supplied, the operation of the drive system is stopped when the predetermined time interval for preheating the fixer has elapsed. As a result, the jammed paper sheet may not be removed but remains inside the copying machine. The operator must remove it if he wishes to perform copying.